The Jeffreys Bay is host to one of the first and largest wind farms in South Africa and is owned by a consortium who in terms of the South African Government’s REIPPP [Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Program], has undertaken to provide clean, renewable energy to the people of South Africa. The wind farm site, situated on the R102 between Humansdorp and Jeffreys Bay, spans 3 700 hectares on which 60 wind turbines have been erected. The end goal of the project is to supply the Eskom 132kV grid line with 460 000 MWh per year, supplying enough clean renewable electrical energy to power more than 100 000 average South African households.

As a “give-back to the community”, The Jeffreys Bay Wind Farm has donated around R1,3 million to a number of social economic beneficiaries focusing to help uplift the communities of Humansdorp, Hankey and Patensie .

Construction started in December 2012 and reached Commercial Operations Date in mid-2014. The project has included the transportation of 22 500 tons of turbine components, construction of 48km of roads, laying of 200km of cables and 26 800m3 of concrete for the 60 turbine bases and the erection of 60 wind turbines, each standing 80m tall. A South African consortium between Murray & Roberts Construction and Consolidated Power Projects handled the civil and electrical works.Each wind turbine [ model Siemens SWT 2.3 MW ] stands 80m tall with blades of 49m long and a rotor diametre of 101 metres. The average rotation of the blades is between 6 and 16 rpm, with each turbine generating 2.3 MW of energy.

Advantages of Wind Energy :

Wind energy is one of the oldest forms of renewable energy generation, the modern descendants of the age-old windmill.

Wind energy is a clean, pollution-free, renewable energy source and is basically a transformed form of solar energy. It uses virtually no water, unlike most other forms of energy.

Wind energy is one of the most cost effective renewable energy sources and is currently the fastest-growing source of electricity production in the world. Wind turbine operational costs are minimal once erected.

Some of the disadvantages of Wind Power are listed as * the visual impact created by turbines en-masse…a fairly large environmental footprint * hazard to birdlife * unpredictable wind factor equates to an unpredictable level of energy to be produced * land wastage due to the fact that huge tracts of land need to be used in relation to the amount of energy produced